RIP social media. What comes next is messy.

"The dynamics that give rise to all those negative outcomes are structurally embedded in the very architecture of social media. So we're probably doomed to endless toxic feedback loops unless someone hits upon a brilliant fundamental redesign that manages to change those dynamics."

"Törnberg's research showed that, while numerous platform-level intervention strategies have been proposed to combat these issues, none are likely to be effective. And it's not the fault of much-hated algorithms, non-chronological feeds, or our human proclivity for seeking out negativity."

"Those simulated users were randomly programmed to either hold an opinion or its opposite and then interact randomly with selected members of a simulated online community. And if the proportion of community members who disagreed with those simulated users exceeded a given threshold, those agents were programmed to leave and join a different online community."

Research by Petter Törnberg demonstrates that social media's negative outcomes—partisan echo chambers, attention inequality, and amplification of extreme voices—are structurally embedded in platform architecture rather than caused by algorithms, feeds, or human nature. Platform-level interventions have proven ineffective because they don't address underlying dynamics. Törnberg's recent work uses agent-based modeling combined with large language models to simulate user behavior, examining how users with opposing opinions interact within communities. When disagreement exceeds certain thresholds, simulated users leave communities to join others. This research suggests fundamental redesign is necessary to prevent toxic feedback loops as social media continues fragmenting.

Read at Ars Technica